Advertising: Internet

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are taking any action on the targeted advertising service offered by Phorm in the light of the questions about its legality under the Data Protection and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Acts.

Baroness Vadera: The Office of the Information Commissioner made a statement on 3 March 2008 that it was in discussion with one company about the nature of its service and the way it uses information about ISP customers. My department will consider the continued relevance of the current safeguards and legislation in the light of the outcome of those discussions.

Afghanistan: World Food Programme

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much they have pledged, and contributed, towards the World Food Programme's current three-year relief and recovery operation in Afghanistan; and whether the amounts pledged take account of rising food prices.

Baroness Crawley: The Department for International Development recently approved £3 million of emergency humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan. DfID's contribution, along with other donors, will help the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide 43,000 tonnes of assorted commodities (ie, 35,000 tonnes of wheat, 4,200 tonnes of pulses, 2,800 tonnes of vegetable oil and 700 tonnes of iodized salt) in rural areas, and 46,000 tonnes of wheat in urban and semi-urban areas.
	The price of wheat has increased between January 2007 and 2008 by a countrywide average of 58 per cent. The poor spend as much as 55 per cent of their income on food, predominantly wheat flour. Our response will help to mitigate the effect of this adverse impact.
	The Government of Afghanistan have also taken immediate measures and are considering longer term mechanisms to address similar crises. The Government have also temporarily reduced the import tax on wheat and wheat flour. As part of the Afghanistan national development strategy they are developing a disaster preparedness and risk mitigation strategy.
	We are monitoring the situation closely and have been taking account of higher costs when responding to humanitarian appeals.

Agriculture: Sheep

Lord Vinson: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will authorise the extraction of spinal columns from sheep by vacuum, as approved by the European Union, and in the light of the Food Standards Agency placing no restrictions on the import of sheep meat so processed from France and the finding of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee that the likelihood of BSE in sheep is near zero.

Lord Darzi of Denham: I refer the noble Lord to the reply I gave him on 10 March 2008 (Official Report, col. WA 193).
	As regards the import of sheep meat from France, or any other member state, we have been advised that if unsplit carcases of sheep over 12 months of age are received in the United Kingdom they are, in accordance with European Union regulations, randomly checked for presence of spinal cord. This verification process will involve splitting the carcase.

Allotments

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Answer by Baroness Andrews on 10 January (Official Report, col. 941), whether they have revised their guidance on allotments; and, if so, what changes have been made.

Baroness Andrews: I am pleased to confirm that a revised edition of Growing in the Community—A Good Practice Guide for the Management of Allotments was published on 13 March 2008 by the Local Government Association.
	The revised guidance reflects the significant developments in the allotments movement since 2001. It contains a wealth of new examples of good practice, showing innovative uses of allotments benefiting all sections of the community. The guide explores current thinking on allotments, highlighting their importance in promoting health, community engagement and community cohesion.
	The guide provides an up to date policy framework. It outlines the legislation, and policy guidance, and sets out best practice affecting allotment gardening, and signposts further information.

Armed Forces: Bowman

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress has been made in developing solutions to facilitate data exchange between Bowman and other NATO digitisation systems as part of the Ministry of Defence's command and battlespace management capability release.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Improvements to connectivity with NATO systems are being addressed as part of the planned uplift to the capability of the Bowman CIP system to BCIP 5, which is currently under way.

Armed Forces: Centre for Defence Enterprise

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the planned pilot Centre for Defence Enterprise on the Harwell campus will be established and operational.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: A formal opening of the Centre for Defence Enterprise is planned for May.

Armed Forces: Centre for Defence Enterprise

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the planned pilot Centre for Defence Enterprise on the Harwell campus will be staffed and managed.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) will be staffed by a team of initially three, based on site at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire. The team is part of the MoD Defence Technology and Innovation Centre, based at Shrivenham, which is itself part of the MoD Science Innovation Technology Top Level Budget area.

Armed Forces: Centre for Defence Enterprise

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the planned pilot Centre for Defence Enterprise on the Harwell campus will relate to the work of the Defence Scientific and Technology Laboratories.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (Dstl) is the MoD's primary source of internal scientific and technical advice and will play a key role in the Centre for Defence Enterprise activity. Dstl will support assessment of research proposals and work with proposers to maximise exploitation opportunities within defence.

Armed Forces: Chemical Weapons

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will propose that the role of incapacitating biochemical weapons in military operations and law enforcement be discussed at the Chemical Weapons Convention Review Conference.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The issues surrounding so-called incapacitating biochemical weapons and their potential impact on the Chemical Weapons Convention are highly complex and most states party to the convention have yet to express clear ideas on the implications for the convention. The UK believes that thorough study of the complex technical and legal implications is required and therefore does not consider the issue ready for detailed discussion at the second review conference. But we are willing to examine, with other states party to the convention, the options for taking forward work after the conference, if it appears that consensus on how to move forward seems achievable, and if a suitable mechanism and scope for discussions can be decided.

Armed Forces: Director of Service Prosecutions

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the new Director of Service Prosecutions, Bruce Houlder QC, has served in HM Regular or Reserve Forces; and
	Whether they will place in the Library of the House an outline and timetable of the induction course for the new Director of Service Prosecutions; and whether the director will exercise any prosecutorial functions prior to completing this course.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The full details and timings of Mr Houlder's induction programme will be finalised with him when he takes up his post as the first Director of Service Prosecutions (DSP) in May 2008. There are no plans to place a copy in the Library of the House. However, it is anticipated that the programme will include familiarisation with the service justice system and the service courts, engagement with the single service provost marshals and the Ministry of Defence Police, as well as meetings with Defence Ministers, the Attorney-General, the single service chiefs, the Permanent Secretary and the principal personnel officers of the single services. The DSP will also visit ships, establishments and air stations both at home and overseas to acquire a breadth of knowledge about the areas and the circumstances in which Armed Forces personnel live and operate. The programme will also include visits to operational theatres.
	Mr Houlder has not served as a regular or reserve member of Her Majesty's Armed Forces.
	The DSP will not exercise any prosecutorial functions until 1 January 2009.

Armed Forces: Future Rapid Effects System

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 31 March (WA 127), regarding the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES), what planning figure is the relevant integrated project team using for the numbers of each variant of the FRES.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Work on detailed requirements is continuing. Current planning suggests that the FRES programme will provide a fleet of more than 3,000 vehicles, and that the utility vehicle will make up just over half the total fleet. However, fleet requirements for each FRES family will not be confirmed until the main investment decisions are taken. I am withholding further details on internal planning figures as they are subject to change as the requirement matures and their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests.

Armed Forces: Military Covenant

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there is a military covenant.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Of the UK Armed Forces, only the British Army formally sets out its understanding of The Military Covenant: Army Doctrine Publication, volume 5, chapter 1, 2000. The Government recognise their responsibility to value, respect and support all those who serve and have served in the Armed Forces. Important steps have been taken to ensure that the Government meet their responsibilities to uphold the military covenant including improvements in healthcare, compensation, accommodation and welfare.

Armed Forces: School Visits

The Earl of Shrewsbury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the motion proposed by the National Union of Teachers for an end to school visits designed to raise awareness of the Armed Forces.

Lord Adonis: The department is supportive of activities that help children and young people understand the role of the Armed Forces and we are in discussions with the Ministry of Defence as to how we might increase access to cadet forces for pupils in state schools. However, it is for head teachers to determine whether to invite Armed Forces personnel to visit their schools.

Armed Forces: Scottish Personnel

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress has been made in discussions with the Scottish Executive regarding the jurisdiction of and arrangements for inquiring into the deaths of Scottish-based service personnel killed on duty overseas.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Contacts between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive continue on this sensitive and complex issue.
	I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice on 25 March 2008, (Official Report, column 53W) in another place to the right honourable Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Mr Adam Ingram).

Armed Forces: Tribunals

Lord Roberts of Conwy: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 17 March (WA 23), by what process service and ex-service personnel were individually invited to respond to the proposals in the consultation paper Transforming Tribunals; and which organisations were invited to respond.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Transforming Tribunals was published on 28 November, both in hard copy and on the Ministry of Justice website. Publication was accompanied by a press release. The views of all those who deal with tribunals on the issues set out in the paper were invited. In respect of service and ex-service personnel, copies of the paper were sent directly to the Royal British Legion and Eastern War Pensions, which currently represent over 80 per cent of appellants in PAT cases.
	In addition to their responses, and as stated in my reply of 17 March, a number of other service organisations have responded to the consultation, including the Royal Air Force Association, Combat Stress, the Army Benevolent Fund, the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association and the Confederation of British Service and Ex-Service Organisations. The Pensions Appeal Tribunal also made a detailed submission, which was the subject of Lord Morris's Question.

Armed Forces: Weapons

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Ministry of Defence has decided to sole-source the CTA 40mm cannon for Warrior FRES, given the lack of manufacturing facility and qualification for the ammunition.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The MoD has down selected, subject to commercial undertakings, the cannon developed by CTAi (an Anglo/French Joint Venture company between BAE Systems Land Systems and Nexter) for both Warrior and FRES Scout programmes, as it meets the lethality requirements of both systems, and a single common solution is more efficient and effective. The programme is still in the concept phase and work continues to determine the associated ammunition requirements. Identification of a manufacturing facility and qualification of ammunition, will, of course, be addressed as part of this work.

Bahrain: Refugees

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, at a meeting to discuss the activities of Bahraini refugees in the United Kingdom, the British ambassador in Bahrain informed the Interior Minister that persons granted refugee status are subject to the same laws as natives.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The content of discussions between Governments are confidential. Government officials are prohibited by law from discussing the details of any individual asylum case.

Bangladesh: Chittagong Hill

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have received reports about a potential famine in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and neighbouring states in India following the flowering of bamboos and the destruction of crops and food stores by the growing rat population; and what contribution they will make to the World Food Programme for emergency assistance to this situation.

Baroness Crawley: The UK Government are aware of the food shortage occurring in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh and in north-eastern India, receiving reports on the CHT crisis from both the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP will be conducting a needs assessment mission in the CHT, and the European Community for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) is doing so in Mizoram, north-eastern India. These assessments will provide the UK Government, as well as donor partners, a basis to consider the scale of the problem and the needs identified. We will then be able to evaluate how best the international community can respond to this crisis, in consultation with both the Governments of Bangladesh and India. Under an agreement with the Government of India, UN agencies and other donors cannot respond to a humanitarian emergency unless formally requested to do so by the Union Government.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Financial Assistance

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the implications for British development aid of the decision by the United States Agency for International Development to declare that the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats in the Entity of Republic of Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina is no longer eligible for financial assistance.

Baroness Crawley: The decision by the United States Agency for International Development has no implications for British development aid in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

British Coal Compensation

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they will take following the formal decision, dated 27 March, by the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner declaring that for the purposes of Section 52(3) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 the Law Society's plan for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 for securing effective and efficient complaints handling against solicitors is inadequate; and whether they have plans to review the implications of this declaration for retired miners, widows and families in the British Coal litigation.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government appointed the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (LSCC) in 2004 as an independent regulator of the Law Society's complaints handling function. Therefore, the Government do not become involved in discussions on the plan for complaints handling. However, the Government are pleased to note that following a request from the LSCC, the Law Society's 08-09 plan includes a target related to the handling of miners' cases. It remains the Government's view that the Law Society and LSCC should work together effectively to deliver continued and sustainable improvements for consumers.
	Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will continue to work with the LCS, the LSCC, the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), coalfield MPs and other bodies to ensure that all claimants under the coal health scheme understand their rights to redress through the LCS where deductions have been made wrongfully from their compensation awards.
	The Government have legislated in the Legal Services Act 2007 to create an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which will remove complaints handling from the legal professional bodies.

British Coal Compensation

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the light of the report of the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales in the cases of Dennis Rimmer and Norman Dickinson, retired miners whose British Coal industrial deafness claims were dealt with by Beresford's Panel Solicitors Scheme, they will request reports from the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service concerning the other 6,796 claimants whose cases were sold by Beresford's to its panel of 10 firms of solicitors between June 2002 and March 2004.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Reports by the ombudsman on individual cases are confidential to the parties concerned. It would not be appropriate for the Government to have knowledge of or to comment on individual cases.
	The legal profession is independent and as such complaints about solicitors are a matter for the Law Society. However, the Government take a close interest in this issue and seek regular updates from the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to ensure that progress is being made.
	The Law Society tells us that in respect of the coal health compensation scheme, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has authorised investigations into 60 firms of solicitors; 20 firms have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the SRA has won the first three disciplinary cases heard there. To date, solicitors have refunded more than £3.6 million to miners. This figure is expected to rise as more investigations are completed.
	It is also our understanding that the Legal Complaints Service has received 3,383 complaints to date, of which 2,538 have been closed. Of the 2,538 closed matters, 162 were upheld and 1,139 were conciliated. The remainder were closed due to reasons such as the customer resolving the matter with the solicitor without LCS assistance, the complaint being outside the LCS jurisdiction; i.e. the complaint was against a union, or the customer not responding.
	The Government have legislated in the Legal Services Act 2007 to create an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which will remove complaints handling from the legal professional bodies.

British Coal Compensation

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they have taken following the reports by the Legal Services Ombudsman in respect of retired miners, their widows and families in the British Coal litigation; and whether they are satisfied with the performance of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government are pleased to note the improvements that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) have made in dealing with complaints. However, they recognise that still more can be done. The Government are pleased to note that, following a request from the LSCC, the Law Society's 2008-09 plan includes a target related to the handling of miners' cases.
	The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has authorised investigations into 60 firms of solicitors; 20 firms have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the SRA has won the first three disciplinary cases heard there. To date, solicitors have refunded over £3.6 million to miners. This figure is expected to rise as more investigations are completed.
	It is also our understanding that the Legal Complaints Service has received 3,383 complaints to date, of which 2,538 have been closed. Of the 2,538 closed matters, 162 were upheld and 1,139 were conciliated. The remainder were closed due to reasons such as the customer resolving the matter with the solicitor without LCS assistance, the complaint being outside the LCS jurisdiction—ie, the complaint was against a union—or the customer not responding.
	Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will continue to work with the LCS, the LSCC, the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), coalfield MPs and other bodies to ensure that all claimants under the coal health scheme understand their rights to redress through the LCS where deductions have been made wrongfully from their compensation awards.
	In January 2008 Bridget Prentice and Malcolm Wicks met representatives of the LCS and SRA, Kevin Barron MP and Lord Lofthouse to discuss the outcomes and way forward from the Rother Valley initiative.
	The Government plan to provide details of claimants under the Coal Health Compensation Scheme to enable the Law Society further to raise awareness among retired miners following the success of the Rother Valley pilot. This will be on a phased basis over the next 12 months.
	In January 2008 Bridget Prentice and Malcolm Wicks met representatives of the LCS and SRA, Kevin Barron MP and Lord Lofthouse to discuss the outcomes and way forward from the Rother Valley initiative.
	The Government plan to provide details of claimants under the Coal Health Compensation Scheme to enable the Law Society further to raise awareness among retired miners following the success of the Rother Valley pilot. This will be on a phased basis over the next 12 months.

British Coal Compensation

Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to address the concerns of retired miners, their widows and families in the British Coal litigation seeking redress against their former solicitors, in the light of the reports of the Legal Services Ombudsman in the case of Enoch Walker recommending that the Legal Complaints Service should re-investigate all complaints arising out of the British Coal litigation which had been rejected either for being out of time or because family members did not have locus standi; and whether the ensuing conduct of the Legal Complaints Service was appropriate.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Reports by the ombudsman on individual cases are confidential to the parties concerned. It would not be appropriate for the Government to have knowledge of or to comment on individual cases.
	The legal profession is independent and as such complaints about solicitors are a matter for the Law Society rather than the Government. However, the Government believe it is important that miners who complain to the Law Society under the coal health compensation schemes get the level of service and compensation they deserve.
	It is our understanding that the Legal Complaints Service has received 3,383 complaints to date, of which 2,538 have been closed. This has resulted in excess of £700,000 being recovered for former miners or their relatives. The Government are also pleased to note that, following a request from the LSCC, the Law Society's 08-09 plan includes a target related to the handling of miners' cases.
	Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will continue to work with the LCS, the LSCC, the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), coalfield MPs and other bodies, to ensure that all claimants under the coal health scheme understand their rights to redress through the LCS where deductions have been made wrongfully from their compensation awards.
	The Government have legislated in the Legal Services Act 2007 to create an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which will remove complaints handling from the legal professional bodies.

British Overseas Territories

Lord Hoyle: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will allow representatives of Overseas Territories to lay wreaths in their own right at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day.

Lord Malloch-Brown: It is the long-standing practice for my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph on behalf of all the Overseas Territories at the Remembrance Day service. There are no plans at present to change that arrangement.

Cameroon: Constitution

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they will make through the Commonwealth to President Biya of Cameroon that he should not alter the constitution to allow him to stand for re-election for a further seven-year term of office in 2011.

Lord Malloch-Brown: A Commonwealth delegation visited Cameroon in late February 2008 to discuss issues relating to democratic reform. It was able to raise a number of issues with the Government of Cameroon at senior level, including the wider question of electoral reform.
	The Government supported a European Union public statement on 27 March 2008, which noted that any changes to the constitution must be decided by the people and institutions of Cameroon, but emphasised the importance of a broad, free and open debate, involving all elements of Cameroonian society, on the proposals for constitutional revision. The statement also said "...the European Union remains convinced that the possibility of a changeover of power, the freedom of the press and the guaranteeing of public freedoms are fundamental to the consolidation of democracy, and draws attention to the urgent need to improve the electoral system and the standard of voter turnout, these being guarantors of the stability that the country needs".

Care Services

Lord Bradley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many care homes in each district of Greater Manchester have more than half of their employees qualified to NVQ level 2 or above.

Lord Darzi of Denham: We have been informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection that it can provide information about the performance of care homes for older people in the Manchester council area against standard 28 of the national minimum standards (NMS) for care homes for older people.
	Standard 28 requires a minimum ratio of 50 per cent trained members of care staff to National Vocational Qualification level 2 or equivalent, excluding the registered manager and/or care manager and, in care homes providing nursing, excluding those members of the care staff who are registered nurses.
	During the year ending 31 March 2007, of the homes inspected against standard 28 which were still active on 31 March 2007, 73 out of 77 homes met or exceeded the standard.
	Comparable information is not available for homes inspected against the NMS for care homes for younger adults.

Colombia: Human Rights

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether media reports of United Kingdom support for the Colombian army's III Brigade intelligence department are correct and, if so, what is the nature of that support and whether they are satisfied that such support complies with the recommendations of the United Nations special rapporteur on actions regarding human rights defenders.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We do not divulge details of the support that we provide to the Colombian Government because to do so could not only endanger the effectiveness of the support but play into the hands of ruthless and powerful drugs-trafficking cartels. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has upheld this decision.
	Our work with the Colombian Government, including with the Ministry of Defence, is specifically aimed at countering the threat of cocaine to the UK and at helping to improve the human rights situation, including through demining work. We do not offer the Colombian Government training in counterinsurgency operations.
	We fully endorse and support the recommendations of the United Nations special rapporteur on actions regarding human rights defenders and we closely supervise the use of British resources in an effort to ensure that the highest operational, ethical and human rights standards are maintained by the people whom we are working with.

Colombia: Justice

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What matters are covered in the United Kingdom's advisory role to the Colombian authorities on reform of the Colombian military justice system.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK has been working for several years with the Colombian authorities to improve human rights standards in the Colombian military. This is mainly achieved through workshops, which include participants from the Colombian Ministry of Defence, armed forces, police and other relevant institutions such as the public prosecutor's office and International Organisations.
	Our work with the Colombian military on reform of the military justice system is founded on respect for human rights. Under Colombian law, cases involving human rights abuses are the responsibility of the public prosecutor's office and are not dealt with within the military justice system. We have helped to develop formal liaison between the various agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of offences allegedly committed by members of the armed forces and police, with a view to improving investigatory and judicial processes.

Colombia: Justice

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What advice they gave the Colombian authorities regarding the inclusion of cases of human rights abuse within the Colombian military justice system.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK has been working for several years with the Colombian authorities to improve human rights standards in the Colombian military. This is mainly achieved through workshops, which include participants from the Colombian Ministry of Defence, armed forces, police and other relevant institutions, such as the public prosecutor's office and international organisations.
	Our work with the Colombian military on reform of the military justice system is founded on respect for human rights. Under Colombian law, cases involving human rights abuses are the responsibility of the public prosecutor's office and are not dealt with within the military justice system. We have helped to develop formal liaison between the various agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of offences allegedly committed by members of the armed forces and police, with a view to improving investigatory and judicial processes.

Colombia: Military Support

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What monitoring and evaluation have been considered to assess the efficacy of support provided to the Colombian military, including the mountain units, and what has been the cost of that support in each year over the past five years.

Lord Malloch-Brown: All UK projects in Colombia, as elsewhere, undergo rigorous evaluation before funding is agreed, in areas such as value for money and effectiveness of implementing partners, and they are carefully monitored while projects are under way in terms of proper use of funds, achievements of objectives and outputs. We continually and closely supervise the use of UK resources in an effort to ensure that the highest operational, ethical and human rights standards are maintained by the people whom we are working with. Our work with the Colombian Government, including with the Ministry of Defence, is specifically aimed at countering the threat of cocaine to the UK and at helping to improve the human rights situation. The only training that we have provided to individuals in the high mountain battalions has been human rights and demining training.
	We do not divulge details of the support that we provide to our Colombian partners because to do so could not only endanger the effectiveness of the support but play into the hands of ruthless and powerful drugs-trafficking cartels. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has upheld this decision.

Colombia: Trade Unions

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer on 3 March by the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Dr Kim Howells MP (Official Report, Commons, 2143W), what was the outcome of the meeting with delegates from the Colombian trade unions.

Lord Malloch-Brown: On 4 March, my honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Kim Howells, met senior members of Colombian trade unions during their visit to the UK. The Minister reaffirmed the UK's support for Colombia and our commitment to working with all sectors of Colombian society to improve the human rights situation. He also expressed the UK's continuing support for trade unionists in Colombia and our intention to continue our ongoing work with Colombian trade unions and the Trades Union Congress to bring an end to the unacceptable situation that they face.

Compensation: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much the Northern Ireland Compensation Agency has paid out each year since it was created.

Lord Rooker: This is the operational responsibility of the Compensation Agency. The chief executive has advised me of the following:
	
		
			 Year Expenditure Year Expenditure 
			 1992-93 £105,344,000 2000-01 £66,565,000 
			 1993-94 £103,185,000 2001-02 £65,862,000 
			 1994-95 £92,922,000 2002-03 £56,319,000 
			 1995-96 £71,373,000 2003-04 £52,234,000 
			 1996-97 £60,672,000 2004-05 £45,095,000 
			 1997-98 £69,411,000 2005-06 £45,649,000 
			 1998-99 £82,640,000 2006-07 £44,931,000 
			 1999-2000 £83,039,000 2007-08 £48,774,000

Compensation: Pleural Plaque

Lord Dixon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Answer by the Prime Minister on 12 March (HC Deb, col. 276) on action to be taken with regard to compensation for pleural plaque sufferers, how much progress has been made since the Law Lords' ruling on pleural plaque compensation on 17 October.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The House of Lords judgment on pleural plaques raises very complex issues. We understand the anxiety that is experienced by people who have been exposed to dangerous substances like asbestos, and who have been told they have pleural plaques. We are currently giving serious consideration to all the representations which have been made to us, and are actively exploring how people who have pleural plaques as a result of exposure to asbestos might be supported. We aim to announce our response as soon as we have analysed all the options.

Computer Systems: DCSF

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities.

Lord Adonis: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Computer Systems: Department of Health

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the Department of Health, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities.

Lord Darzi of Denham: It is not in the interests of the United Kingdom's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their information technology (IT) systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Computer Systems: DIUS

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems.
	This information would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Computer Systems: DWP

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of (a) the Department for Work and Pensions, (b) Jobcentre Plus, (c) the Pension Service, and (d) the Child Support Agency, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised departmental computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Computer Systems: Ministry of Defence

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the Ministry of Defence, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Computer Systems: Ministry of Justice

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the Ministry of Justice, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences.

Computer Systems: Treasury and HMRC

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of (a) Her Majesty's Treasury and (b) Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised their computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities.

Lord Davies of Oldham: It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.

Crime: Age of Responsibility

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any plans to increase the age of criminal responsibility to 18.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There are no current plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales.

Crime: Restorative Justice

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many children have been subject to restorative justice intervention in Northern Ireland since the creation of the Youth Justice Agency.

Lord Rooker: Statutory restorative justice intervention for young people in Northern Ireland is delivered through the Youth Justice Agency's Youth Conference Service. Since the commencement of youth conferencing on 18 December 2003, there have been 3,936 referrals (up to 28 March 2008) relating to 2,122 distinct children.

Crime: Sex Offenders

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much it will cost per month to provide police protection for Raymond Horne, following his recent deportation from Australia for sexual offences.

Lord West of Spithead: This is an operational matter for the police service.

Crime: Sex Offenders

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people are currently on the sex offenders register.

Lord West of Spithead: According to the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements annual reports, as of 31 March 2007 the total number of registered sex offenders in England and Wales was 30,416.

Crime: Sex Offenders

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In light of the deportation of Raymond Horne from Australia to Britain, whether they support the creation of an international sex offenders register.

Lord West of Spithead: The UK authorities were aware of the arrival of Horne in advance and took steps to deal with this. An international register would not have affected the response in this case. However, increasing the exchange between countries of information on sex offenders is one of our key public protection aims. In November 2006, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Ireland on the exchange of information on sex offenders and are hoping to develop similar arrangements with other states. We have raised the issue of exchanging information on sex offenders in EU discussions and are exploring other opportunities to engage in discussions on this issue with other states.

Drugs: Cannabis

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people are treated each week for the psychological effects of cannabis use; and what advice is given by FRANK, the Government's drug advice service for young people, about the threat posed by cannabis use to the health of young people.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The information requested is not available on a weekly basis. However, the most recent data available on the numbers of people presenting for treatment in specialist substance misuse treatment services who identified cannabis as their primary problem of misuse were 21,800 in 2005-06 and 24,700 (rounded to the nearest hundred) in 2006-07.
	The advice FRANK provides is detailed information about the effect of cannabis on physical and mental health and states that there is "increasing evidence of a link between cannabis and mental health and problems such as schizophrenia".
	FRANK delivers this message in a number of ways through its website, telephone helpline, by television and radio adverts and information leaflets.

Electoral Commission

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 20 February (WA 65) refers only to Electoral Commission complaints to and investigations by the Metropolitan Police Service; whether they will provide details of the overall costs of all United Kingdom police investigations on behalf of the Electoral Commission; and what were the outcomes of those investigations.

Lord West of Spithead: The Government are not aware of any other investigations being carried out by any other police forces, but detailed information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To what extent the Polkinghorne Guidelines established in 1989 should still apply to research using foetal tissue; how implementation of these guidelines compares in practice to the regulation of research involving human embryos; how calls for greater transparency and consistency have been addressed since the publication of a report in the Royal Society of Medicine's Clinical Ethics journal in 2006 (Volume 1, pages 216—8); and what are the justifications for any known differences regarding separation of treatment and research roles in obtaining material from foetuses or patients undergoing fertility treatment.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Since the publication of the Polkinghorne Guidelines in 1989 (amended 1995), new statutory frameworks have been put in place to regulate fertility treatment and embryo research and to regulate the use of tissue for research.
	The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 regulates fertility treatments, involving the creation of embryos outside the body, for example in vitro fertilisation (IVF), and the use of donated gametes (sperm and eggs) and embryos, and the use of human embryos in research.
	The Human Tissue Act 2004 regulates the removal, storage, use and disposal of relevant material for scheduled purposes including research. Relevant material is defined as any material consisting of or including human cells with the exception of gametes, embryos outside the human body and hair and nail from a living person.
	The Human Tissue Authority has published a code of practice on consent for the use of human tissue for certain purposes including research. The code recognises the sensitivity surrounding the use of foetal tissue for research and says that best practice is to obtain fully informed consent for the use of foetal tissue in research or for other purposes specified in the Human Tissue Act 2004.
	Both fertility treatment and embryo research require a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). While the majority of research involves the use of embryos donated by patients who no longer wish to use them in their own treatment, the processes of treatment and research are kept separate. The HFEA's code of practice provides guidance to clinics and research centres about the proper conduct of licensed activities.
	Research Ethics Committee approval is always required for the use of foetal tissue, products of conception and live human embryos in research.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the provisions in Clause 4 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill were based on the experience of other countries known to have performed research using human gametes and animal gametes without replacing the nucleus of an animal egg and not destroyed later than the two-cell stage; if so, in which countries such research has been carried out; in what years that research commenced; what significant medical advances were made by the research; and in which other countries such hybrids have been described as human admixed embryos.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Government are not aware of any published research into the creation of embryos using human and animal gametes, where such embryos have gestated beyond the two-cell stage. We are not aware of any country referring to such embryos as human admixed embryos.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 19 March (WA 44), whether outgrowing embryos lie outside the remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority if they have ceased to be human embryos; and why every embryo in British laboratories that has been cultured for more than 14 days lacks any relationship between the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Once an embryo ceases to be a live human embryo it falls outside the regulatory remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. It is the intrinsic nature of cell masses which have outgrown from the structure of an embryo to lack a relationship between the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 19 March (WA 44), how the necessary organisational structure of a viable embryo has been determined on the basis of empirical studies of primate embryos; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of references to all peer-reviewed research papers which support the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's decision on this matter.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority came to the conclusions on outgrowing embryos after taking account of the views of a range of scientific and clinical experts. Studies in the 1970s demonstrated that on a collagen surface the inner cell mass retains its 3D structure while on plastic it becomes completely flat. It was concluded that the retention of a 3D structure is key to its continuing to develop normally and form a recognisable embryo in vitro.
	(Reference: Hsu YC (1971) Post-blastocyst differentiation in vitro. Nature. 14;231(5298):100-2).

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 31 March (WA 133), why the Department of Health does not collect detailed information on therapies and clinical trials involving adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells; and whether collation of such information would be an appropriate use of public funds by the Medical Research Council and the National Health Service.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department does not systematically collate information on therapies or clinical trials based on the distinction between any one source of starting material. The Government have stated that they will fund stem cell research irrespective of the source of the stem cells.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) has information on the clinical trials it funds; for example on the treatment of leukaemias and other blood cancers involving the transplant of adult (bone marrow) stem cells. However, it is not within the MRC's remit to collect detailed information on therapies and clinical trials involving adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 31 March (WA 132—33), whether any member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority who has been part of a committee making licensing decisions regarding nuclear transfer has ever expressed views in favour of reproductive cloning; and to what extent those opposed to the creation of human embryos for such research influence licensing decisions.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised the department that it is not aware of any views expressed in favour of human reproductive cloning by members of the authority's research licence committee.
	Lay summaries of research proposals submitted to the HFEA are placed on its website with an invitation to the public to submit comments. All comments received by the HFEA, including those from people opposed to the creation of embryos by cell nuclear replacement for research purposes, are considered by the research licence committee before making its decisions.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 29 November 2007 (Official Report, 29/11/07;col. WA 131) and 3 December 2007 (Official Report, 3/12/07, col. WA 159) regarding the need for fully informed consent on the part of women donating eggs for research, how many eggs were stated to be required to ensure that the chance of pregnancy is not reduced according to patient information and consent forms approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority; and how these documents reflect the corresponding overall incidence of hospitalisation described in the journal Human Fertility (volume 10, issue 3, pages 183—87).

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department has been informed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that it does not produce guidance on the number of eggs required to ensure that the chance of pregnancy is not reduced in an egg-sharing arrangement. That is a matter for individual clinical judgement. However, the HFEA's code of practice states that clinics should ensure that the treatment offered is the most suitable available to satisfy the needs of the egg provider and recipient(s).
	The HFEA also expects that, before treatment begins, women should be given information on, among other things, a description of how the clinic proposes to determine the allocation of eggs between provider and recipient(s) and the possible side-effects and risks of treatment, including ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the Medical Research Council's request for applications before 19 March in order to catch up with induced pluripotent stem cell technology reflects the current position of stem cell research in the United Kingdom relative to global competitors; and how this compares with the merits of interspecies nuclear transfer, as recently publicised on 1 April in advance of peer review.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Medical Research Council (MRC) supports research into all approaches to harness the potential of stem cells to treat human disease and believes that the discovery of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells is a major breakthrough in stem cell research. This technology is at a very early stage and, although there has been proof of principle, many questions remain unanswered.
	Research into iPS cells is being pursued in many laboratories around the globe, following the original demonstration of this technology in mouse in 2006 and in human cells in 2007. UK researchers are well placed to utilise this technology, and the recent joint MRC/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) call for proposals aims to promote the development of human iPS cells towards application. Comparative studies with human embryonic stem cells will be key to understanding the full potential of this technology.
	The MRC has made no assessment of the recently publicised findings on interspecies nuclear transfer, which have yet to be peer reviewed.

Energy: Nuclear Power Stations

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress is being made in their discussions with the Government of France on the proposed nuclear power stations joint project.

Lord Bach: The French and UK nuclear safety regulating authorities announced enhanced co-operation on 27 March. In particular, they will work together to establish a joint project approach to the regulation of the European pressurised water reactor should that go on to the next stage of generic design assessment alongside other reactor designs, following the prioritisation process recently announced by the UK Government. This joint approach in relation to the EPR will not prejudice other designs involved in the prioritisation process.

Families

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the interests of reducing carbon emissions, they will consider introducing a policy to discourage large families through fiscal means.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government's objective is to provide financial support to families in a way that meets their needs, and does this primarily through a combination of child benefit, which goes to all families, and child tax credit, a payment to families on low to moderate incomes. Both child benefit and child tax credit pay more for additional children, recognising the higher costs these families face. Between 1998-99 and 2005-06, increases in the level of financial support to families have helped lift 600,000 children out of poverty.

Families

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their policy towards family size.

Lord Adonis: Families are free to be whatever size they choose and the Government support them in this choice in a wide range of ways including through our childcare strategy, tax credits, benefits and services offered through Sure Start children's centres and extended schools.

Fishing

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	With reference to the Tope (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 2008 (SI 2008/691), whether Articles 3, 4 and 5 provide that tope may be caught using a rod and line but may not be landed in England nor transhipped to a fishing boat from another part of the United Kingdom; and whether tope may, in those circumstances, be landed in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: The Tope (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 2008 prohibits tope caught by rod and line from being landed, alive or dead, in England only. Anglers can continue to practise catch and release. Only tope caught by methods other than rod and line, up to a limit of 45 kg per day liveweight, may be landed. Tope caught by any method may currently be landed in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	Tope may not be transhipped by UK vessels in English waters and within British fishery limits, excluding Northern Ireland zone, the Scottish zone, Wales or the territorial sea adjacent to the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
	We understand that the Welsh Assembly Government intend to introduce an equivalent statutory iInstrument and the Scottish Executive are considering this matter further. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland has no plans to introduce similar measures.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Publications Carbon Footprint

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their estimate of the carbon footprint of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office brochure Better World, Better Britain, published in February.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not estimated the carbon footprint of this publication.

Gangmasters

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	With reference to the Gangmasters (Licensing Conditions) (No. 2) (Amendment) Rules 2008 (SI 2008/638), what is the estimate for 2008—09 of the numbers of annual fees that will be charged in each fee band; what was the actual figure for 2006—07; and what is the latest prediction for 2007—08.

Lord Rooker: The information requested is set out in the table below.
	
		
			 Number of licences issued by turnover band 2006-07 — 2008-09 
			 Fee Band Turnover 2006-07 2007-08* 2008-09* 
			 A £10 million or more 12 12 11 
			 B £5 million to < £10 million 18 16 17 
			 C £1 million to < £5 million 191 173 239 
			 D < £1 million 837 1000 1108 
			 Total  1058 1201 1375 
			 * Numbers for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are estimates as at 28 February 2008

Gangmasters

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	With reference to the Gangmasters (Licensing Conditions) (No. 2) (Amendment) Rules 2008 (SI 2008/638), why renewal fees increased by 11.1 per cent for bands A and B and 7.9 per cent for Band C.

Lord Rooker: Under Treasury funding rules, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) is required to cover the cost of its operation from the licence and application fees it receives.
	The GLA fee levels for the 2008-09 financial year were set following public consultation. On the basis of the outcome of this consultation, the GLA decided that licence fees for band D licence holders should not be increased. Band D licence holders are the smallest businesses licensed by the GLA, with turnovers of less than £1 million in the sectors regulated by the authority. Keeping band D licence fee levels unchanged represents a saving in real terms for more than 72 per cent of licence holders. To meet its cost recovery target, the GLA has had to increases fee levels for licence holders in bands A to C.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 17 January (WA 278), what representations the Ministry of Defence has had since 24 September 2007 from Dr Malcolm Hooper, emeritus professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Sunderland, on the deaths and illnesses of veterans of the 1990—91 Gulf War; and what responses they are making to the questions posed by Dr Hooper in his reply to the department's letter to him dated 9 January.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans (Derek Twigg) will write to my noble friend setting out the position regarding recent letters from Professor Malcolm Hooper. In broad terms, however, these letters do not raise substantive new points on Gulf veterans' illnesses that would affect our understanding of their causes or the steps we might take to help those affected.

Health and Social Care

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many quasi-autonomous non-governmental agencies attached to health and social care exist.

Baroness Thornton: Details of the department's public bodies, executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies and special health authorities, for 2007 have been placed in the Library.
	This information is now published on the Appointments Commission website at: www.appointments.org. uk/docs/public_bodies_2007.pdf and will be updated annually.

Health: Alzheimer's

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the new electronic tags for Alzheimer's patients will be available through the National Health Service.

Baroness Thornton: The department has no plans to make electronic tags available to people with Alzheimer's disease through the National Health Service.

Health: Anthrax

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 25 March (WA 821), whether they will provide the same statistics with regard to anthrax.

Baroness Thornton: Anthrax vaccine is not routinely offered to the public in the United Kingdom. Vaccination against bacillus anthracis is recommended only for those at highest risk of occupational exposure; for example, those handling dead animals, e.g. tanners and vets and laboratory staff who may be handling organisms. Data on the numbers of people vaccinated are not routinely collected.
	The Health Protection Agency issues vaccine for the purpose of occupational protection and during the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007, 2,430 doses of anthrax vaccine were issued by the agency. A primary course of vaccination for pre-exposure prophylaxis normally comprises four doses of vaccine followed by an annual booster dose.
	There is no vaccine immunoglobulin for anthrax vaccine.

Health: Genito-urinary Clinics

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What percentage of people seeking an appointment with a genito-urinary medicine clinic are seen within 48 hours; and how this varies between regions.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Information on the number of first attendances at genito-urinary medicine clinics seen within two normal working days in January, the latest month for which figures are available, by strategic health authority is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 England and strategic health authority Percentage of first attendances seen within two normal working days 
			 England 83.7% 
			 North East 79.9% 
			 North West 87.7% 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 80.3% 
			 East Midlands 74.0% 
			 West Midlands 78.7% 
			 East of England 82.7% 
			 London 86.2% 
			 South East Coast 81.7% 
			 South Central 88.8% 
			 South West 84.3% 
		
	
	Source: Department of Health genito-urinary medicine access monthly monitoring form.
	Notes: The data presented here are for first attendances only. These are commissioner-based data.

Health: Hospital Construction

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many new hospitals are presently under construction in England and Wales; and which of these are in north-west England.

Baroness Thornton: Information on new hospital schemes under construction in England is shown in the following table (information on schemes in Wales is not held centrally by the Department of Health in England).
	The table shows that of the 33 schemes currently under construction, four are within the boundaries of the North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA).
	
		
			 Hospital build schemes under construction in England 
			 SHA National Health Service trust or PCT Capital value £m Financial close/tender award date Operational date Scheme description 
			 East Midlands Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 19 23 December 2004 Q2 2008 Elderly & Mental Health Units 
			 East of England Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 36 27 March 2006 Q2 2008 Garrett Anderson Treatment Centre 
			 North East The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals 299 27 April 2005 Q2 2008 Relocation of Northern Centre for Cancer to Freeman Hospital and reconfiguration of Renal and Elderly Services. Redevelopment of Royal Victoria Infirmary. 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 67 21 February 2006 Q2 2008 Reconfiguration of Cancer facilities 
			 South Central Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals 129 13 December 2005 Q2 2008 Integrated Cancer Centre 
			 East Midlands Derby Hospitals 312 12 September 2003 Q2 2008 Consolidation of Acute Services on Derby City General Hospital site enabling the development of a community facility on the Derby Royal Infirmary site. 
			 East of England South West Essex Teaching PCT 30 29 June 2006 Q3 2008 Reprovision of Brentwood Community Hospital 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals 51 1 August 2006 Q3 2008 Cardiac Centre 
			 North West St Helens Hospitals 338 1 June 2006 Q4 2008 Acute Hospital development 
			 North West Central Manchester & Manchester Children's Hospitals 512 14 December 2004 Q1 2009 Major work to provide 3 hospitals for Women, Children, Adults and a specialist Eye Hospital 
			 South West Taunton & Somerset 21 28 February 2007 Q1 2009 Cancer Centre 
			 South Central Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals 29 1 May 2007 Q1 2009 Cardiac Centre 
			 West Midlands University Hospital of North Staffordshire 55 1 December 2006 Q1 2009 Maternity & Oncology Unit 
			 South West United Bristol Healthcare/North Bristol 64 16 October 2006 Q1 2009 Cardiothoracic Centre 
			 East Midlands Sherwood Forest Hospitals 326 29 October 2005 Q2 2009 Rebuild and refurbishment of the King's Mill site and Mansfield Community Hospital. 
			 East Midlands Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 29 3 May 2007 Q2 2009 New South Holland Community Hospital 
			 East of England West Hertfordshire Hospitals 40 14 October 2007 Q2 2009 Acute Accident Unit 
			 South Central Portsmouth Hospitals 236 12 December 2005 Q2 2009 Relocation of Acute services currently spread across three sites on to a single site (which will include a Ministry of Defence unit) 
			 East Midlands Derbyshire Mental Health Services 36 9 October 2007 Q2 2009 Reprovision of mental health services 
			 East of England South Essex Partnership 32 5 October 2007 Q3 2009 Medium & Low security Mental Health unit on Runwell hospital site 
			 North East Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys 75 12 December 2007 Q1 2010 Replacement of St Luke's hospital offering general and forensic mental health services. 
			 West Midlands Walsall Hospitals 169 3 November 2007 Q1 2010 Improving Children's services and provision of primary care centres 
			 West Midlands University Hospital Birmingham/Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health 627 8 June 2006 Q1 2010 Single site hospital to replace Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals and provide a new Mental Health Unit (Joint scheme with Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health) 
			 East Midlands Northamptonshire Healthcare 36 31 October 2007 Q1 2010 Reprovision of institutional Mental Health services. Includes in-patient and Adult continuing care at Pendereds hospital. 
			 London North Middlesex University Hospital 144 27 July 2007 Q2 2010 Reconfiguration of Acute Hospital services 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Mid Yorkshire Hospitals 353 22 June 2007 Q2 2010 Rationalisation from two main sites to one at Pinderfields Hospital. Small Unit at Pontefract. 
			 East of England Mid Essex Hospital Services 148 6 December 2007 Q3 2010 Relocation of Maternity Unit and modernisation of Acute Services including DTC in Chelmsford. 
			 North West Tameside & Glossop Acute Services 109 13 September 2007 Q4 2010 Integration of services on to one site 
			 North West Salford Royal Hospitals 190 5 September 2007 Q1 2011 New build and refurbishment at Hope Hospital Salford 
			 London Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children 75 9 October 2006 Q3 2011 Reprovision of hospital buildings 
			 East of England Peterborough & Stamford Hospitals 336 29 June 2007 Q1 2012 Reconfiguration of Acute Hospital services 
			 West Midlands University Hospital of North Staffordshire/Stoke 375 13 June 2007 Q4 2012 Major new build and reconfiguration at University Hospital site 
			 London Barts & the London 1,000 27 April 2006 Q4 2013 Acute site rationalisation

Health: Hydrotherapy

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are taking any steps actively to encourage the provision of hydrotherapy for those with mobility problems.

Lord Darzi of Denham: No steps have been taken centrally. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders, including practice-based commissioners, local government and the public to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health and to commission services accordingly. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of hydrotherapy.

Health: Incontinence

Lord Roberts of Conwy: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made as to how single-line prescription items such as intermittent catheters will be affected by the proposed changes to service remuneration under the review of part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stomach and incontinence appliances, and related services to NHS primary care.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The review of the arrangements under part IX of the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances and related services in primary care is ongoing.
	One of the aims of the review is to achieve clear transparency between what is reimbursed for items and what is paid for services (remuneration). Through a process of consultation, views have been sought on proposals that reflect this aim. In our assessment, single-line prescription items such as intermittent catheters should not be affected by the proposed changes to service remuneration.
	A further consultation is due to be published in May 2008, together with an impact assessment and equality impact assessment.

Health: Inequalities

Lord Rix: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether initiatives to tackle health inequalities will include schemes to address inequalities experienced by people with a learning disability.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Initiatives to tackle health inequalities will include schemes to address inequalities by people with a learning disability. We are currently promoting a primary care trust framework to support comprehensive health checks, health action planning and better access to health promotion services for people with learning disabilities and we are publishing guidance to the National Health Service on meeting the disability equality duty in relation to this group shortly.
	Valuing People Now: From Progress to Transformation was published on 4 December 2007. The document builds on the vision set out in the White Paper Valuing People (2001) and proposes five priorities for delivery over the next three years—personalisation, health, employment and social inclusion, housing and ensuring change happens. Valuing People Now is key in driving forward the health agenda and tackling inequalities for people with learning disabilities. The consultation period ended on 28 March 2008.

Health: Mobile Phones

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to carry out further research into whether or not the use of mobile phones causes brain tumours.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The ongoing Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme is jointly funded by government and industry. This programme is managed by an independent committee which selects and monitors the research. MTHR published its first report in September 2007. The report can be found on the MTHR website at www.mthr.org.uk/.
	MTHR studies found no epidemiological association between short-term mobile telephone use (less than 10 years) and cancers of the brain and nervous system. The report noted that the situation for longer exposure times is less clear and recommended work to assess whether exposure to mobile telephone radiofrequencies in the longer term increases the risk of developing brain and nervous system tumours. A cohort study to investigate a wide range of potential effects including brain cancer is under way at Imperial College, London.

Health: Single-sex Wards

Lord Dixon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many hospitals built since 1997 have single-sex wards.

Baroness Thornton: Information about the number of hospitals that have single-sex wards is not collected centrally. Guidance issued to the National Health Service requires the provision of single-sex accommodation, not wards, which can take a number of forms. NHS trusts may provide good segregation through single rooms, single-sex bays within a mixed ward, single-sex wards or combinations of these types.

Home Office: Annual Reports

Lord Grocott: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which annual reports the Home Office is required by Act of Parliament to produce; and, in each case, what is the authorising Act.

Lord West of Spithead: The Home Office is obliged by statute to lay the following annual documents before parliament:
	
		
			 Report Title Act 
			 Report of the Animal Procedures Committee Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 
			 Report of the Appointed Person for England and Wales and Northern Ireland Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 
			 Assets Recovery Agency Annual Report Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 
			 Annual Report of the Certification Monitor Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 
			 Independent Police Complaints Commission Annual Report and Accounts Police Reform Act 2002 
			 Annual Report of the Independent Race Monitor Race Relations Act 1976 
			 Police Grant Report (England and Wales) Police Act 1996 
			 Serious Organised Crime Agency Annual Report Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 
			 Security Industry Authority Annual Report and Accounts Private Security Industry Act 2001 
			 Criminal Records Bureau Annual Report and Accounts Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 
			 Identity and Passport Service Annual Report and Accounts Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 
			 Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Police Act 1996 
			 Report on the Operation of the Terrorism Act 2000 Terrorism Act 2000 
			 Report of the Independent Reviewer pursuant to Section 14 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005

Houses of Parliament: Post Office

Lord Denham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the post office in the Central Lobby of the Palace of Westminster is one of those under threat of closure.

Baroness Vadera: The Post Office in question has not been proposed for closure.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 10 January (WA 219), which provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 require that the identity of a clinic at which women are known to have been at risk from life-threatening complications should not be publicly disclosed; and how the interests of prospective patients are similarly protected in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

Lord Darzi of Denham: There are no provisions in either the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 or the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that explicitly require that the identity of a clinic at which women are known to have been at risk from life-threatening complications should not be publicly disclosed. However, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has informed the department that it would regard the release of information that could lead to the identification of individual patients as contrary to the confidentiality provisions in Section 33(2)(a) of the Act.
	In 2003 the HFEA introduced an incident alert reporting system. Taking an approach where the name of a clinic reporting an incident is not made public, the HFEA has worked with clinics to encourage greater reporting, particularly of lower risk incidents or those that are "near misses". This is to ensure that lessons learnt from such events can be circulated to other clinics, so avoiding a repeat elsewhere in the sector.

Immigration: Georgia

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Immigration Tribunal Service did not deliver to the Home Office the appeal submission in the name of Nino Trollope in the case of the visa application for entry into the United Kingdom from Mrs Anna Zurabishvili.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: When an appeal against refusal of entry into the United Kingdom is lodged with the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (as opposed to being lodged with the embassy), the tribunal serves a copy on the embassy that dealt with the visa application, which is then responsible for instructing the Home Office presenting officers unit in the UK. The AIT served a copy of the appeal for Mrs Anna Zurabishvili on the British embassy, Tbilisi on 6 July 2007 and sent a duplicate copy by fax at the embassy's request on 22 November 2007.

Iran: Human Rights

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they or the European Union raised at the United Nations Human Rights Council in March section 5 of the Iranian draft penal code, which provides a mandatory death penalty for apostasy, in contravention of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and, if so, with what results.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK and the EU are deeply concerned by provisions in Iran's draft penal code that would make the crimes of apostasy, heresy and witchcraft punishable by death and have spoken out publicly about this on several occasions. The EU presidency issued a declaration on behalf of the EU on 25 February 2008 expressing concern about the draft law and calling on Iran to ensure that any modifications to the penal code are consistent with the international human rights conventions to which Iran is a state party. The EU also expressed concerns about these amendments in a meeting with the Iranian authorities in early March and in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council on 13 March. My honourable friend the Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, called in the Iranian ambassador on 1 April to raise UK concerns about the apostasy articles of the draft penal code and to stress our opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.

Iraq and Afghanistan: Military Casualties

Baroness Emerton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What processes are in place for the Ministry of Defence to learn from the experience of the St John and Red Cross Defence Medical Welfare Service in providing support to injured service personnel, in particular their support for those injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Formal meetings between the Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) and MoD are held four times a year. The main purpose for these meetings is to monitor the contract which is in place between the MoD and DMWS. However these meetings also offer the opportunity for issues to be raised by both organisations and there is also close liaison in between meetings.
	DMWS staffs are firmly embedded in all deployed field hospitals and are the primary welfare contact for the patients in those units. The DMWS is also contracted to provide welfare services to service personnel in hospitals in the UK, Germany and Cyprus. Welfare is also an integral part of a commanding officer's (CO) responsibility to those under their command, both staff and patients, and as such COs have a vested interest in maintaining close contact with their DMWS staff.
	COs of field hospitals are invited to contribute to the contract monitoring process and further have the opportunity to reflect issues expressed by and with respect to the DMWS in their post-operational reports, all of which contribute to lessons learned from operational deployments. Additionally the COs of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Ministry of Defence Hospital Units and representatives from the chains of command from Germany and Cyprus are invited to attend one of the quarterly meetings each year.

Iraq: Basra

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to resist any proposals from the United States to include British troops based at Basra airport in military activities in Basra.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: UK forces in Basra may be asked to undertake military activities in support of Iraqi Security Force operations where coalition commanders judge such requests from the Iraqis to be militarily viable and appropriate. For example, UK forces have, as part of the coalition effort, provided fast jet, helicopter, logistic, medical, staff officer and ground force support to recent Iraqi Security Force operations against criminal elements in Basra. UK forces will continue to meet all their obligations as part of the multinational corps.

Iraq: Business Development

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they played a role in establishing the business skills programmes being developed in partnership between local district councils and the Baghdad Small Business Development Centre.

Baroness Crawley: The Department for International Development is not involved in establishing the business skills programme being developed in partnership between local district councils and the Baghdad Small Business Development Centre (SBDC). This is an initiative supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Iraq: Displaced People

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the estimates made by the International Organisation for Migration in its recent report on the number of displaced Iraqis and on the number of internally displaced Iraqis who do not receive government food rations, lack clean water and do not have access to the medications they require.

Baroness Crawley: The UK Government remain concerned about the humanitarian situation in Iraq and the number of people who have been displaced from their homes. We have seen the International Organisation for Migration's (IOM) recent assessment that more than 5.1 million people are now displaced, of whom 2.7 million are displaced inside Iraq. The IOM also estimates that more than 75 per cent of internally displaced people do not have access to government food rations, nearly 20 per cent do not have access to clean water and 33 per cent cannot obtain the medicines they require. However, it remains difficult to obtain accurate data on the humanitarian situation in Iraq, and the figures quoted by humanitarian agencies vary. For example, UNHCR has recently reported that the total number of displaced Iraqis is around 4.4 million, of which 2.4 million are displaced inside Iraq.
	Despite uncertainty about exact numbers, it is clear there are humanitarian needs in Iraq that have to be addressed. The Department for International Development is committed to playing its part and is working closely with the IOM, as well as UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to ensure urgent needs are met. In March this year, DfID announced a further £15 million in humanitarian assistance for vulnerable Iraqis, including a £1.5 million contribution to the IOM. This money will support humanitarian operations, including efforts to fill the gaps in the Government's food distribution system, repair water and sanitation structures, and rehabilitate and strengthen health services and facilities. This latest package of support takes DfID's total humanitarian contributions for Iraq to £147 million since 2003.

Iraq: Female Education

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the recent report by Women for Women International which found a substantial drop in the number of girls being enrolled in school over the past five years in Iraq; and
	What is their response to the latest figures published by the United Nations which suggest that the number of illiterate women in Iraq has increased from 2 per cent in the 1970s and 1980s to 27 per cent today.

Baroness Crawley: The UK Government share the concerns about gender disparities as well as general lack of access for children to education in Iraq. In March this year, the Department for International Development announced contributions to the UN's Children Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), totalling £5 million. These contributions will support the provision of emergency learning spaces and school equipment, rehabilitation of education facilities, and transportation for children to school, as well as meeting other priority needs among vulnerable Iraqis. This support forms part of DfID's overall humanitarian contributions for Iraq, totalling £147 million since 2003.
	DfID has not seen the UN figures the noble Baroness quotes on female literacy in Iraq. The UNICEF report of last year estimated that overall literacy rates may have been around 74 per cent in 2006, compared to 52 per cent in 1977 and 72 per cent in 1987 following the education campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s. The report did not give figures for female literacy rates in the 1970s and 1980s but estimated they were around 64 per cent in 2006.

Iraq: Female Education

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What proportion of girls are enrolled in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Iraq; and how this compares with five years ago.

Baroness Crawley: There is a lack of reliable data on the overall situation in the education sector in Iraq, and the enrolment of girls in education more specifically. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) offers the following statistics, which indicate a slight increase in girls' enrolment at all levels of education between 2002 and 2005:
	
		
			 Iraq Education—Female General Enrolment Ratio (%) 
			  2002 2005 
			 Primary 89 90 (e) 
			 Secondary 27 (e) 36 (e) 
			 Tertiary 9 (e) 12 (e) 
			 (e) = estimate 
		
	
	We do not have enrolment data for 2006 and 2007.

Iraq: Power Supply

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assistance they are providing to reconstruct, repair and upgrade the power system in Iraq, including generation, transmission and distribution; and
	What assistance they are providing to the Iraqi Commission of Electricity in drafting and implementing policy.

Baroness Crawley: Since 2003 the Department for International Development (DfID) has spent £90 million on infrastructure projects in southern Iraq, of which £84 million has been on the power sector. We have added or secured 415 megawatts of electricity to the Iraqi national grid, and will be adding or securing a further 60 megawatts over the next few months, enough to provide 24 hours of power for around 1 million people. This has been achieved by repairing damaged electricity transmission and distribution networks, including transmission lines from al-Hartha power station to Basra city (securing electricity supplies for 1.5 million residents), and the al-Hartha power station chimney (securing electricity supplies for 340,000 people).
	DfID is not providing any support to the Iraqi Commission of Electricity in drafting and implementing policy. We have been encouraging the Government of Iraq to approach the World Bank for advice on the energy sector, including power, as we believe that the bank is best placed to provide this assistance.

Iraq: Refugees

Lord Steel of Aikwood: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assistance they are giving to the refugees in the al-Tanf and al-Waleed camps on the Iraq border.

Baroness Crawley: The UK Government remain concerned about the situation for the more than 2,700 Palestinian refugees in the al-Tanf and al-Waleed camps on the Iraqi-Syrian border. The Department for International Development supports these refugees through contributions to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). DfID recently announced a further £15 million in humanitarian assistance for Iraq, of which £10 million has gone to UNHCR and ICRC. This money will support displaced people in and from Iraq, including the Palestinians in the al-Tanf and al-Waleed camps. UNHCR and ICRC provide camp maintenance and medical assistance for the Palestinian refugees. UNHCR also pursues possibilities for resettlement for a number of these refugees to third countries.
	DfID has contributed £147 million in humanitarian assistance for Iraq since 2003, of which £56 million has gone to UNHCR and ICRC.

Iraq: Refugees

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the letter sent by 24 refugee and human rights agencies to the Prime Minister on 18 March on Iraqi refugees.

Baroness Crawley: The UK Government share the concerns for displaced Iraqis, as set out by the 24 NGOs in the open letter of 18 March to the UK and Iraqi Prime Ministers and the US President.
	It is a priority for the UK Government to alleviate humanitarian suffering among displaced and vulnerable Iraqis. This is the reason the Department for International Development has recently announced a further £15 million in humanitarian assistance. The money will go to the UN-led Consolidated Appeal for Iraq, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). This takes the UK Government's overall humanitarian assistance contributions for Iraq to £147 million since 2003. DfID's contributions have supported the provision of food, financial and legal aid to displaced and other vulnerable Iraqis. It has also supported the rehabilitation of hospital water and sanitation structures in Iraq and the upgrading of health and education facilities in host communities and countries. In addition, the UK is a major contributor to the European Commission (EC). Last year, the EC allocated €50 million in support of Iraqi refugees in the Middle East region. This included €9 million to support Syrian public health services in areas with large Iraqi populations, and €26.7 million to build capacity in the Jordanian education sector to accommodate Iraqi refugee children.
	DfID's contributions to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) support the protection of Iraqi refugees in the Middle East region. By registering with UNHCR, refugees obtain improved legal protection in countries that have not signed up to the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention. UNHCR is continuously increasing its outreach efforts to register more Iraqis in countries such as Jordan and Syria. UNHCR also provides food and financial assistance to prevent destitution among the refugees. Other protection measures include UNHCR support to safe houses for victims of domestic violence and other vulnerable women and children in Syria.

Iraq: Water Treatment

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What attempts they have made to restore the operating capacity of Iraq's 140 major water treatment centres, which currently operate at 65 per cent efficiency; and
	What role they have played in rehabilitating the 15 water treatment facilities and portions of the Sweet Water Canal to Basra; and
	What role they have played in the World Bank's two projects, Emergency Water, Sanitation and Urban Reconstruction, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works, and Emergency Baghdad Water Supply and Sanitation, which is being implemented by the mayoralty of Baghdad, to increase levels of water sanitation in Iraq.

Baroness Crawley: In 2003, Iraq's 140 major water treatment facilities were operating at about 35 per cent of their design capacity (3 billion litres a day) due to inadequate maintenance, lack of plant operators, power shortages and looting. The international donor community, including the UK, US, World Bank and Japanese, are helping improve the efficiency and reliability of existing treatment facilities and the US has constructed several new facilities, especially in the south where water quality is particularly poor.
	The Department for International Development has committed more than £100 million to infrastructure regeneration projects in Iraq. By May, we will have improved access to water for 1 million people. We have replaced 200 kilometres of water mains, repaired over 5,000 leaks, cleared out 7,000 septic tanks and cleared more than 40 kilometres of drains. We have refurbished a reverse osmosis unit in Basra to supply potable water to about 500,000 people. We have also improved water supply to 60,000 people in al-Amtahiyah, and constructed a water training centre in Basra to increase the skills of Iraqi engineers in water treatment and leakage repair. Finally, we have provided technical advice for a major sewage installation in al-Amarah, providing up to half the city's population with access to a piped system and replacing open sewage channels.
	The US has rehabilitated the Sweet Water Canal system, repairing breaches, cleaning and repairing the main water storage and settling reservoir and refurbishing 14 water treatment plants around Basra city. The UK Royal Engineers have completed a project, funded by DfID, to install low lift pumps to provide a secondary source of domestic water supply to the 2 million population of Basra.
	The two World Bank emergency water and sanitation projects in Iraq are being funded through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI)—a multilateral mechanism made up of two trust funds, one managed by the United Nations and the other by the World Bank. Donors have pledged more than $1.77 billion for reconstruction projects through the IRFFI, of which DfID made a contribution of $127 million in 2004.

Israel and Palestine: Gaza

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to the Government of Israel about reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross claiming that the Gaza Strip's sewage system is incapable of handling its waste.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We remain gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the poor state of essential services, including water and sanitation. In a briefing to the diplomatic corps on 26 March, Israeli Defence Minister Barak said that he had supported the Gaza sewage project and that Israel would do what it could to complete it.
	My right honourable friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development issued statements on 11 and 21 January 2008 expressing their deep concern about the humanitarian impact of the restrictions imposed by the Government of Israel on Gaza and urging Israel to lift all restrictions.
	My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has also reiterated our concerns in phone calls with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni and Defence Minister Barak in recent weeks.
	Our embassy in Tel Aviv continues to raise this issue on a regular basis with the Israelis.

Israel and Palestine: Negotiations

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will take steps with their European Union Middle East road map partners to ensure that substantive rather than partial negotiations are started by Israel and the Palestinian Authority with a view to ensuring the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of this year.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The EU, as a member of the quartet (US, UN, EU and Russia), has an important political role to play in the Middle East peace process. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has regular discussions with international partners, including EU colleagues, on the peace process. The EU presidency issued a declaration on 14 March 2008 expressing the European Council's full support for the Annapolis process and its commitment to support the parties in their negotiations with a view to achieving an agreement this year leading to a two-state solution. The EU continues to demonstrate its commitment to the peace process by: providing political support; giving practical support to Palestinian institutions; capacity and economic development; and effective monitoring to hold the parties to their commitments.

Israel and Palestine: Prisoners

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to request further releases of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We continue to monitor the situation with regard to all Palestinian prisoners. Most Palestinian prisoners have been tried by Israeli courts and have the right of appeal. However, we do have concerns about Palestinian prisoners who are being held in administrative detention. All Palestinian prisoners should have access to a fair trial and we call upon Israel to ensure that any actions are in accordance with international law. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities.

Israel and Palestine: Prisoners

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they will make to the Government of Israel about Palestinian prisoners detained without due process, contrary to international law.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We continue to monitor the situation with regard to all Palestinian prisoners. Most Palestinian prisoners have been tried by Israeli courts and have the right of appeal. However, we have concerns about Palestinian prisoners who are being held in administrative detention. All Palestinian prisoners should have access to a fair trial and we call on Israel to ensure that any actions are in accordance with international law. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities.

Israel and Palestine: Prisoners

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they will make to the Government of Israel about the number of Palestinian detainees being, on a pro rata basis, twice the prison population of the United Kingdom.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We do not have any plans to make representations to the Government of Israel on this issue. However, we continue to monitor the situation with regard to all Palestinian prisoners and will continue to raise any concerns with the Israeli authorities.
	Most Palestinian prisoners have been tried by Israeli courts and have the right of appeal. However, we have concerns about Palestinian prisoners who are being held in administrative detention. All Palestinian prisoners should have access to a fair trial and we call on Israel to ensure that any actions are in accordance with international law. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities.

Israel and Palestine: Settlements

Baroness Northover: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 26 March (WA 96), what representations they have made to the Government of Israel regarding reports that Defence Minister Ehud Barak approved the transfer of five further mobile homes into the Israeli settlement of Teneh Omarim.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We are concerned by media reports that Israel plans to build in the settlement of Teneh Omarim. We have raised our concerns about recent reports with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
	My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has stated that the UK believes that all Israeli settlements anywhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. We believe they are a serious impediment to a negotiated two-state solution.

Israel and Palestine: US Involvement

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will next discuss the timetable for a Palestinian state with President Bush; and what principal points they will make to him.

Lord Malloch-Brown: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister holds regular discussions with President Bush on a range of issues and is due to travel to Washington this month. Both the UK and the US have made clear their support for the two-state solution. We believe that the process launched in Annapolis in November 2007 represents the best chance for progress since 2000.

Israel and Palestine: US Involvement

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will hold talks with the Government of the United States on the exercise of United States vetoes of United Nations resolutions on Israel/Palestine.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We hold regular discussions with all UN Security Council members on resolutions tabled at the UN. The UN has an important role to play on the Israeli/Palestinian issue. We have made clear at the Security Council our belief that the UN's voice should be heard on this issue and the importance of a balanced approach.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What they expect to be the implications for Israel if further houses are built in the occupied West Bank or if new outposts are set up or extended contrary to the road map and the Annapolis and previous agreements.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We have raised our concerns about recent reports regarding settlement activity with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and stressed that we see this as unhelpful particularly when Israelis and Palestinians should be focusing on full implementation of their obligations under phase 1 of the road map, which includes freezing all settlement activity, including natural growth.
	As my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has recently stated, the UK believes that all Israeli settlements anywhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law. We believe that they are a serious impediment to a negotiated two-state solution.

Justice: No-win No-fee Arrangements

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What measures are in place to prevent abuse of the no-win no-fee system in employment law claims arising from (a) not informing claimants that their costs may be covered by a trade union; (b) charging unreasonable costs; and (c) the inclusion of unreasonable penalty clauses in retainer agreements.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The regulation of agreements between solicitors and their clients is a matter for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Under the SRA's code of conduct, solicitors are required to provide clients with the information necessary to make appropriate decisions about if, and how, their matter should proceed. Clients should also be given the best information possible about the likely costs and other charges both at the outset and, when appropriate, as the matter progresses. This would include information about any penalty charges in retainer agreements.
	Solicitors must also discuss with clients how those costs will be paid for, in particular whether costs can be met through existing insurance or may be paid by someone else such as an employer/trade union. Where the code is not complied with the SRA can take regulatory action.

Northern Ireland: Murder Prosecutions

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 25 March (WA 84), how many successful convictions have taken place in each year since 1970 in connection with the murder of police officers in Northern Ireland.

Lord Rooker: As indicated in my previous Answer (WA84), information recorded on convictions does not include details of the victim. Obtaining accurate statistics on the number of successful convictions in connection with the murder of police officers in Northern Ireland would, therefore, require a manual trawl of each case and could be carried out only at disproportionate cost.

Northern Rock

Baroness Noakes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 20 March (WA 65), whether the effect of the arrangements between Northern Rock plc, the Whinstone special purpose vehicles and the Granite special purpose vehicles is that any losses that arise in the Granite vehicles will eventually be borne by Northern Rock plc.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Northern Rock plc has no obligation to make good any losses to the Granite bondholders and the bondholders have no recourse to the assets on Northern Rock's own balance sheet. The Whinstone transactions do not affect that situation.

Northern Rock

Lord De Mauley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many employees of Northern Rock were made redundant between 21 February and 31 March.

Lord Davies of Oldham: During the period of temporary public ownership, Northern Rock will be managed by its board on commercial principles. It is a matter for Northern Rock to release specific business updates or provide any required disclosures in its audited annual report and accounts. I refer the noble Lord to the Chancellor's Statement to the House of Commons on 18 March.

Occupational Health

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How long they expect to take to evaluate pilots on the Fit for Work scheme advocated in Dame Carol Black's recent report on working age illness.

Lord Darzi of Denham: At present, no specific timetable has been set for the evaluation on the Fit for Work scheme advocated in Dame Carol Black's recent report on the health and well-being of the working age population. The Government expect to respond to the issues raised in Dame Carol's review, including the Fit for Work scheme, in summer 2008.

Occupational Health

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will appoint a senior Minister with exclusive responsibility for occupational health.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government have no plans to appoint a Minister with exclusive responsibility for occupational health. The Health, Work and Well-being Strategy is a cross-government initiative focused on improving the health of working age people, making workplaces healthier and helping more people with health conditions to find and keep work. Improving the availability and quality of occupational health services are key elements in the strategy's work programme. As an issue that closely affects both departments, ministerial responsibility for the strategy rests jointly with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health. Ivan Lewis, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, and I lead this work, reporting to our respective Secretaries of State, who have both made clear the importance they place on ensuring that 2008 marks a step change in the way we approach the health of the working age population.

Occupational Health

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to improve levels of absence, sickness and disabilities sustained at work in government departments, the National Health Service, local government and other major public services.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government are committed to improving the support they give to staff and to making public sector organisations exemplars of healthy workplaces, sickness absence management and occupational health practice. Considerable effort has been focused on this agenda in recent years—in particular through the activity of the Ministerial Task Force on Health, Safety and Productivity and the Health, Work and Well-being Strategy.
	As part of this work, plans to create a healthy and productive Civil Service were agreed last year. They include commitments to adopting a checklist on good practice for departmental boards, reviewing policies in light of this and for departments and agencies to publish quarterly performance reports. Arrangements are also being developed to share best practice across departments and agencies. This builds on specific activity already underway in individual departments.
	A further example of work in progress includes a project to improve the health and well-being of NHS staff being piloted in three strategic health authorities. This work focuses on engaging staff and helping them choose how best to improve their health. Evidence has shown that engaged, healthy employees are less likely to be absent, be more fulfilled at work and more productive.
	While good work is already happening across the public sector, we are committed to going further. We will be considering what more we need to do within the public sector as part of our response to Dame Carol Black's review of the health of the working age population.

Occupational Health

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect to develop detailed proposals based on the recommendations of Dame Carol Black in her recent report on working age illness; and
	What status the review of the health of Britain's working age population recently published by Dame Carol Black has in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and what discussions they have held with the appropriate Ministers in the devolved legislatures.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: On 17 March Dame Carol Black submitted to the Government her review of the health of the working age population, Working for a Healthier Tomorrow. The review was commissioned jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health as part of the cross-government Health, Work and Well-being Strategy. The review was commissioned to assess the level of working age ill-health in Great Britain and the impact this has on people, their families, government and the economy. It contains recommendations for both Government and stakeholders.
	The Government welcome the review and will consider Dame Carol's findings carefully. Over the coming months we will study her recommendations and develop detailed proposals to make a real difference. It is our intention to publish a UK Government response later in the year.
	The review's recommendations are also relevant to the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly Government. Both devolved Administrations were involved throughout the course of the review, have welcomed its publication and will be issuing separate responses to it. Building on the strong links established through the Health, Work and Well-being Strategy, we intend to work closely with Ministers and officials from Scotland and Wales on our responses to the review, ensuring a joined-up approach to the health of working age people across Great Britain.
	Dame Carol's review did not focus on Northern Ireland and has no status there.

Older People: EAC Report

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they expect to implement all the recommendations in the report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs Aspects of the Economics of an Ageing Population, published in November 2003; and if so, when.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Select Committee on Economic Affairs published the Government's response to Aspects of the Economics of an Ageing Population on 5 July 2004, responding to the recommendations of the committee.
	The committee's report, as well as other reports, have helped to inform the development of government policy to ensure the UK benefits from the opportunities of an ageing population while also meeting the challenges created. Opportunity Age, published in April 2005, sets out the Government's strategy for adapting to an ageing society. This continues to be taken forward, most recently through Public Service Agreement 17 (tackling poverty and promoting greater wellbeing in later life).
	The Government announced their reforms to the pensions system in the Pensions White Paper, published in May 2006. These reforms, based on the recommendations of the Pensions Commission, will mean more people receiving a more generous basic state pension; the introduction of personal accounts and auto-enrolment into workplace pension schemes; and the extension of individuals' working lives by increasing the state pension age.

Older People: Student Loans

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are proposing action to eliminate discrimination in the provision of student loans to people over the age of 55.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: In 2006-07, the age limit was raised to 60 years of age, and the additional requirement for the student to enter into an agreement to work after their studies was removed. Eligibility for student loans prior to 2006 was limited to students aged under 55 or under 50 for students not intending to enter employment upon graduating.
	During the passage of the Higher Education Act 2004 through Parliament, concerns were raised about the upper age limit on student loans. The Government agreed to set up a working group in response to these concerns to look at the issues. The working group, including, among others, Baroness Greengross, representatives from Age Concern, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, the NUS and UUK, met on 28 September and 30 November 2004 and presented its findings to the Minister on 19 January 2005.
	Following these meetings, the Minister agreed that there should be no age limit applied to the fee loan when this was introduced in 2006 and agreed to review the current position on age limits for maintenance loans with the intention of increasing this to match the state pension age for the 2006-07 academic year.

People Trafficking

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are using the National Register of Unaccompanied Children to track referrals of children where trafficking is suspected.

Lord West of Spithead: The National Register of Unaccompanied Children (NRUC) is not currently being used to track referrals of suspected cases of child trafficking. It is available to local authorities as a source of data on the proportion of unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have been trafficked. Consideration is being given to ways of improving the functionality of the system, in parallel with efforts to ensure that all local authorities make best use of the information it contains.

People Trafficking

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have agreed arrangements for safely accommodating trafficked children, as provided for in the United Kingdom Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking and the Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children's Reform Programme.

Lord West of Spithead: The Government's proposed specialist model for accommodating unaccompanied asylum seeking children is currently being negotiated with local authorities. The specification for authorities that wish to be part of the new arrangements includes provision for the safeguarding and accommodation of children suspected to be victims of trafficking.

Planning: Appeals

Lord Christopher: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many planning appeals, excluding those in respect of industrial or commercial development, were received by HM Inspectors for each of the past five years ended 31 December; and of these, how many were rejected and how many were successful.

Baroness Andrews: Unfortunately we are unable to provide the data on planning appeals in the format requested. However, the table below shows the number of planning appeals determined by the Planning Inspectorate for the calendar years 2003 to 2007 and the number of those appeals that were allowed (successful) and dismissed (rejected).
	A further breakdown is given between those appeals relating to development for householder and major and minor dwellings (ie excluding those in respect of industrial or commercial development) and the total of those relating to all other types of development.
	
		
			  Planning appeals for Householder and Major and Minor Dwellings   Planning appeals for all other development types   
			 Year Appeals Determined Appeals Allowed Appeals Dismissed Appeals Determined Appeals Allowed Appeals Dismissed 
			 2003 11,988 3,609 8,379 5,942 2,396 3,546 
			 2004 11,534 3,624 7,910 4,837 1,913 2,924 
			 2005 16,301 5,019 11,282 5,893 2,369 3,524 
			 2006 14,076 4,405 9,671 5,639 2,280 3,359 
			 2007 14,413 4,738 9,675 6,013 2,546 3,467

Police: Hand-held Computers

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When hand-held computers will be provided to police on the beat.

Lord West of Spithead: A number of police forces have issued hand-held computers to some of their officers, and six have run pilot trials funded by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). In order to accelerate the deployment of hand-held devices in the police service, the Home Office has made a total of £50 million available, spread over the next three years. The programme is managed by the NPIA, working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.
	Forces have submitted proposals which are being assessed against the programme's objective of an additional 9,000 hand-held computers to be in use by September 2008. An announcement on the apportionment of the funding to the selected forces can be expected towards the end of April.

Prisoners: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people were serving life sentences in Northern Ireland prisons in January of each of the past 10 years.

Lord Rooker: The total number of people serving life sentences in Northern Ireland prisons in January in each of the past 10 years is given in the following table.
	
		
			 Year Number of life sentence prisoners 
			 1999 150 
			 2000 127 
			 2001 87 
			 2002 90 
			 2003 105 
			 2004 117 
			 2005 126 
			 2006 136 
			 2007 147 
			 2008 165 
		
	
	1 The population figures are taken on the last Thursday of January in each of the past 10 years.

Residential Care

Lord Rix: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What actions the Department of Health will take to ensure that the experiences described in the Joint Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and Local Government Ombudsman report, Injustice in Residential Care, are not repeated.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Local councils and health trusts are responsible for ensuring that the needs of service users and patients are properly assessed and that those needs are met. To safeguard service users and patients, local councils and the National Health Service are required by law to have formal complaints procedures and to help and assist service users and patients who may wish to make use of them. In the event that anyone is not satisfied with the way their complaint has been dealt with, they are entitled to ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate complaints against local councils and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate complaints against the NHS.
	The Regulatory Reform (Collaboration etc. between Ombudsmen) Order 2007, which came into force on 1 August 2007, enables the ombudsmen to work together more effectively in investigating and reporting on complaints which cross their jurisdictions.
	The Injustice in Residential Care report, which deals with the failures of Buckinghamshire County Council and the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership Trust to provide adequate services to a service user with severe learning disabilities, is the result of the first collaborative investigation between the Local Government Ombudsman and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman under the new arrangements. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
	It is important to note that the findings in the report, unacceptable as they are, were focused on the failure by a single council and mental health trust to deliver quality services to an individual service user. We expect the local authority (LA) and the trust to revise their policies to ensure no reoccurrence of these events. It is the responsibility of all LAs and health trusts to identify the required resources from the funding the Government provide, to ensure that they are delivering appropriate services.

Royal Visits

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the announcement by the President of the Republic of Ireland that HM the Queen would be allowed to visit the Republic only if and when policing and justice are transferred to the Northern Ireland Assembly, whether that announcement reflects their policy.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Both Governments are aware of each other's views on a possible visit and agree that it should take place when they judge the time to be right.

Royal Visits

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the announcement by the President of the Republic of Ireland that HM the Queen would be allowed to visit the Republic only if and when policing and justice are transferred to the Northern Ireland Assembly, whether they have a policy on the appropriate use of HM the Queen's itinerary.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Government advise Buckingham Palace on official travel overseas by Her Majesty the Queen. Both Governments are aware of each other's views on a possible visit and agree that it should take place when they judge the time to be right.

Royal Visits

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will make representations to the Government of the Republic of Ireland regarding the proposed visit of HM the Queen to that country.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Both Governments are aware of each other's views on a possible visit and agree that it should take place when they judge the time to be right.

Sewers

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Who has responsibility for repairing sewers in north-west England.

Lord Rooker: United Utilities is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the public sewerage system in north-west England. Maintenance and repair of private sewers connecting to the public system in the north-west are the responsibility of those served by them.

Smoking

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to reduce further smoking in public places for health reasons.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Government have no plans at present to extend smokefree legislation beyond the parts of premises covered by Part 1, Chapter 1 of the Health Act 2006.
	The department has undertaken to review the operation of smokefree legislation in 2010.

St Helena

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the purpose of the addition of (a) a sensitivity check, and (b) a cost-benefit analysis to the St Helena Airport contract evaluation.

Baroness Crawley: The Department for International Development (DfID) is committed to delivering value for money. As part of the evaluation process we need to determine the impact of possible variations in out-turn costs and other key parameters on the economics of the project. The sensitivity check and cost-benefit analysis are part of this work.

St Helena

Lord Hoyle: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When their plans for an airport in St Helena will come to fruition.

Baroness Crawley: Two tenders for the airport contract have been received. These are currently being evaluated to determine whether they represent value for money. We will know more once this work has been completed.

Statutory Instruments

The Earl of Dundee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to reduce the volume of secondary legislation by repealing obsolete measures.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government take every opportunity to revoke previous instruments which have become obsolete when new secondary legislation is introduced. For example, the Climate Change Levy (General) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2903) revoked five spent instruments.
	If an enabling Act, or the enabling section of the Act, is repealed, instruments made under it will lapse unless they are saved. Secondary legislation may also become spent, either because it was expressed to have effect only for a limited period, or because it no longer has any effect. Many instruments therefore cease to have effect without being specifically revoked.

Tax Credits

Lord Bradley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many residents in the City of Manchester have been asked to repay overpayments related to working family tax credits.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Working family tax credits were replaced by child and working tax credits in April 2003.
	Estimates of the numbers of families with tax credits awards, including information on over and underpayments by local authority, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, are available in the HMRC publication Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplements on Payments in. Geographical Analysis for each relevant year. This is available on the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/ cwtc-geog-stats.htm
	These statistics are not produced separately for child tax credit and working tax credit.

Taxation: Eco-friendly Lifestyles

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to introduce further financial incentives for those who wish to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Since 1997, the Government have introduced a number of financial incentives to encourage eco-friendly behaviour, including reduced VAT rates for the professional installation of energy-saving materials and microgeneration technologies, and the landlords energy saving allowances to encourage private landlords to improve energy efficiency of their properties. Individuals can also take action within their own homes that both reduces their impact on the environment and provides financial benefits by reducing their energy bills. The Government have recently launched the carbon emissions reduction target (CERT), which obliges energy suppliers to install energy efficiency measures and promote reductions in carbon emissions for households. Under the CERT scheme, many energy companies offer free and discounted loft and cavity wall insulation. Further to this, the 2006 Pre-Budget Report announced a stamp duty land tax relief for new zero-carbon homes, and Budget 2008 announced that this incentive would be extended to new flats. Budget 2008 also provided further incentives to choose eco-friendly transportation by announcing significant reform of vehicle excise duty. In addition, the Government have provided funding to support eco-friendly lifestyle, for instance through the low carbon building programme.
	The Government keep all taxes and reliefs under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.

Taxation: VAT

Lord Lee of Trafford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What value added tax is applied to (a) prime and (b) multiple contractors concerned with shipping construction.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The construction and supply of a "qualifying ship" (one whose gross tonnage is not less than 15 tonnes and which is neither designed nor adapted for use for recreation or pleasure) is VAT zero-rated. Parts and equipment supplied in the course of construction of a qualifying ship are also VAT zero-rated. However, parts and equipment supplied to a government department or any part of the Scottish Administration are generally VAT standard-rated. This treatment applies to both prime contractors and other contractors involved in construction and supply.

Taxation: VAT

Lord Lee of Trafford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether value added tax considerations as between prime and multiple contractors were taken into account when budgeting for the building of two new aircraft carriers; and
	What will be the effect on the naval budget programme of the value added tax on the new joint venture between BAE and the VT Group.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Shipbuilding is zero rated for value added tax provided it meets certain criteria and this was taken into account in setting the budget for the future aircraft carriers, for which the contract as a whole will be zero rated. This zero rating is expected to apply to naval shipbuilding work undertaken by the joint venture to be formed by BAES and VT Group and there will, therefore, be no impact on the naval programme.

Telecommunications: Pricing

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What will be the effect on pensioners and people on low incomes of BT's new pricing structure for customers not paying by direct debit, standing order or via the internet; and whether they will refer the new pricing structure to the Office of Fair Trading.

Baroness Vadera: The universal service obligation placed on BT by the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), means that there are special tariff schemes offered to vulnerable customers by the company. Currently these are the light user scheme and In Contact Plus, which are not affected by additional payment charges. The effect on pensioners and people on low incomes of BT's new pricing structure for customers should be mitigated by customers who are eligible moving to the special tariff schemes.
	A new special tariff service, BT Basic, to replace the current schemes will be available from mid-2008, offering a low-cost home phone service to those on low incomes and pensioners who are in receipt of certain government benefits. BT Basic will not include an extra charge for consumers who do not pay by direct debit and, in contrast to previous social telephony products, will be available to consumers who have pre-pay mobile phones and/or broadband services.
	Ofcom has examined any regulatory concerns about communications providers' additional charges and a report was published on 28 February 2008. Ofcom is currently consulting on introducing new guidance for communications providers who levy additional charges on consumers such as for not paying bills by direct debits. This will spell out Ofcom's view of the law and what providers have to do to meet their obligations under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 to ensure that additional charges are fair and transparent. Once the guidance has been finalised, Ofcom is proposing to give providers three months to comply. Ofcom will then start an enforcement programme.
	Ofcom has used its powers to regulate BT and other providers of communications services for the purpose of consumer protection and to have regard to the needs of pensioners and people on low incomes. Referring the BT pricing structure to the Office of Fair Trading is unnecessary.

Terrorism: Cyber Storm

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What participation there was by United Kingdom-based agencies in the exercise Cyber Storm II organised by the United States Department of Homeland Security; what conclusions have been drawn about the readiness of the United Kingdom's critical national infrastructure to withstand a major cyber incident; and whether there are any plans for a United Kingdom-focused exercise.

Lord West of Spithead: Representatives of a number of UK government departments and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure participated in the Cyber Storm II exercise as part of the UK Government's commitment to rehearse security procedures and plans regularly. The exercise used UK-based and international scenarios to test the UK's ability to respond to a variety of simulated incidents.
	The United States Department of Homeland Security will publish a summary report of the exercise in due course to which the UK will contribute. There are no plans to publish a separate UK report, and we do not announce publicly our future plans for testing security procedures.

Torture

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What actions they are taking, with reference to the comments submitted by them to the public hearing in Strasbourg on 11 July 2007, to ensure that their anti-terrorism and torture policy is in accordance with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Saadi v Italy on 28 February.

Lord West of Spithead: In its judgment in Saadi v Italy, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights reaffirmed the existing Article 3 case law, which was set out in Chahal v the UK. We are satisfied that our counterterrorism policy and practices are consistent with that case law. We will not deport someone where there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk they will face torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or that the death penalty would be applied in their case.
	We believe that our policy on torture is clear and consistent with case law from the European Court of Human Rights. We unreservedly condemn the use of torture, and we work hard with our international partners to eradicate this abhorrent practice.

Turkey: EU Regional Aid

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether European Union regional aid granted to Turkey is spent in areas with less than 75 per cent of the average national income; and how such spending is verified.

Baroness Crawley: European Union (EU) funding to Turkey in the period 2007-2013 is provided under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). IPA includes components for regional development, rural development and human resources development which are specifically targeted to benefit regions where GDP per capita falls below 75 per cent of Turkish national average.
	In 2008 the European Commission plans to allocate 52 per cent of the overall IPA spend in Turkey (€538m) to these regionally focused programmes. The remaining EU assistance is targeted at national level to help Turkey make progress towards meeting the requirements for EU membership.
	The European Commission's management and control system verifies that assistance complies with a range of eligibility conditions, including regional eligibility where appropriate.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of (a) the number of illegal Haitian migrants landing on the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), and (b) the repatriation costs to the TCI Government's budget of illegal migrants, for each of the past five years for which figures are available.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The responsibility for immigration in the Turks and Caicos Islands is delegated to the local government. Its Immigration Department has provided the following information for illegal migrants who have been repatriated, but no details are available for illegal migrants who have entered the territory undetected.
	
		
			 Number of illegal Haitian migrants repatriated from the Turks and Caicos Islands 
			 Month/Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 
			 January 44 64 97 117 - 
			 February 121 269 242 60 176 
			 March 303 93 140 31 53 
			 April 241 161 290 70 - 
			 May 60 120 178 42 105 
			 June 344 274 158 80 - 
			 July 311 265 225 350 - 
			 August 54 287 156 18 191 
			 September 318 32 191 214 176 
			 October 207 335 222 128 - 
			 November 146 149 91 310 155 
			 December 14 184 153 608 - 
			 Total 2163 2233 2143 2,028 856 
			 Source: Turks and Caicos Islands Immigration Department 
		
	
	The Turks and Caicos Islands Immigration Department has provided the following figures, which cover food, security, running the illegal migrant detention centre and the repatriation of illegal migrants to Haiti.
	
		
			 Year Amount spent US $ 
			 2003 $349,105.85 
			 2004 $651,734.00 
			 2005 $229,180.00 
			 2006 $1,139,916.00 
			 2007 $1,000,000.00 approx 
			 Total $3 369,935.00 
			 Source: Turks and Caicos Islands Immigration Department

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to the Government of Haiti regarding illegal migration of its citizens to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We support an ongoing programme of co-operation at both official and ministerial level between the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and the Government of Haiti. We understand that this will soon be formalised by a Memorandum of Understanding due to be signed between the two Governments in May. This will focus on the need to improve the interdiction of illegal migrants and other areas of mutual interest, including promoting trade, closer political co-operation and the sharing of intelligence on drugs and firearms from Haiti. Our ambassador in Santo Domingo also raised this issue during a meeting with the Haitian Foreign Minister in January 2008.

UN: Human Rights Council

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why they voted as they did at the United Nations Human Rights Council on the amendment to the terms of reference of the special rapporteur on freedom of expression, and on the substantive motion which incorporated the amendment; and whether they will consult like-minded states on how to reverse this decision.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK voted against an Organisation of the Islamic Conference amendment to a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Human Rights Council's special rapporteur on freedom of expression. This amendment sought to divert the special rapporteur's attention away from promoting the right to freedom of expression by asking him to report on instances when an "abuse" of freedom of expression led to racial or religious discrimination.

Waste Management: Producer Responsibility Obligations

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/871) did not contain the recovery and recycling targets now imposed by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/413) and required by European Council directives agreed in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Lord Rooker: The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 set recovery and recycling targets which were updated by the 2008 regulations, as announced on 11 February. The targets were amended in order to ensure that the UK meets the EU directive targets by 31 December 2008 in light of changes to the data relating to the UK market during 2005, 2006 and 2007 as reflected in the WasteDataFlow statistics. The new targets were set following public consultation.
	The new more ambitious overall recovery target of 72 per cent for 2008 will ensure that we meet this year's EU directive target of recovering at least 60 per cent of our packaging waste, 55 per cent of which will be recycled. The new 73 per cent target for 2009 and 74 per cent for 2010 will also contribute to meeting the ambitions outlined in the 2007 Waste Strategy for England and realise the most efficient CO2 emission savings.

Water Supply: Leaks

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the targets for reducing water leakage in Future Water: The Government's Water Strategy for England are -0.17 per cent in 2007—08, -1.96 per cent in 2008—09, and -2.87 per cent in 2009—10 compared with the figure for 2006—07.

Lord Rooker: Ofwat is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage sectors in England and Wales.
	Ofwat sets annual leakage control targets to balance the needs of customers and the environment and publishes leakage performance and leakage targets for coming years annually in its security of supply report.
	The leakage control target aims to ensure that all companies are operating at an economic level of leakage, where the costs of reducing leakage are balanced against the value of the water saved. The majority of water companies are currently operating at their economic level of leakage, with only one company failing to meet its target in 2006-07.

Water Supply: Leaks

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	With reference to Future Water: The Government's Water Strategy for England, how much it would cost to reduce water leakage from 3,418 megalitres per day in 2006—07 to 2,000 megalitres per day by the end of 2009—10.

Lord Rooker: Ofwat is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage sectors in England and Wales.
	Reducing leakage to 2000 MI/d by 2009-10 would not be feasible. The majority of leakage is comprised of dripping and seeping joints rather than large visible leaks in the street and would therefore require wholesale mains replacement to reduce. A reduction in leakage of this scale would be prohibitively expensive and require a high level of resources that are not available in this timescale.
	The leakage targets quoted in Future Water are based on companies performing at their economic level of leakage (where the costs of reducing leakage are balanced against the value of the water saved), and reducing leakage below this level would result in higher bills for customers. Ofwat and the Environment Agency are jointly reviewing the methodology for calculating leakage targets in an effort to make sure that targets deliver the most sustainable, economic outcomes.

Woodland

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs, Barry Gardiner, on 1 February 2007 (HC Deb, 462—3W), whether there is a common plan across government and the devolved administrations that accounts for the decline in planting of new woodland from 2001 onwards in each of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Lord Rooker: Forestry is a devolved matter and each country is responsible for its own forestry policies and the mechanisms for implementing them. Details of these polices have been published in the country strategies.
	In England A Strategy for England's Trees Woods and Forests was published in June 2007, replacing the 1998 England Forestry Strategy.
	In Scotland The Scottish Forestry Strategy was published in October 2006, replacing the strategy published in 2000.
	In Wales Woodland for Wales was published in 2001.
	In Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Forestry - A Strategy for Sustainability and Growth was published in March 2006.

Woodland

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs, Barry Gardiner, on 1 February 2007 (HC Deb, 462—3W), why new planting of woodland in England has fallen from 700 hectares in 2002 to 200 in 2006; and whether this decline continued in 2007.

Lord Rooker: The figures given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs were for conifer planting only. The total area of new woodland created in England from 2002 to 2007 is given in the table below.
	
		
			 New Woodland creation (thousands of hectares) 
			 Year ending 31 March Conifers Broadleaves Total 
			 2002 0.7 4.7 5.4 
			 2003 0.5 5.4 5.9 
			 2004 0.2 4.4 4.6 
			 2005 0.2 5.1 5.3 
			 2006 0.1 3.6 3.7 
			 2007 0.1 3.1 3.2 
		
	
	The decline in new planting is due to a number of factors including the implementation of the response to the 2002 Sustaining England's Woodlands review. This included the introduction of the new English woodland grant scheme in 2005, which placed increased emphasis on the sustainable management of existing woodland rather than the creation of new woodland.
	The Rural Development Programme for England (2007-2013), which includes support for woodland creation through the English woodland grant scheme has an annual target of 2,200 hectares of new woodland.

Woodland

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs, Barry Gardiner, on 1 February 2007 (HC Deb, 462—3W), whether the figures for restocking of woodland in England include tress knocked down when land is developed, those felled by storms and those felled as part of normal forestry activities.

Lord Rooker: The restocking figures given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs were only for conifer restocking. These figures, which include areas restocked by natural regeneration, are for the commission's own land and the area of woodland receiving grant aid from the Forestry Commission. This area would include land that had been restocked after clearance of windblown trees and cleared through normal harvesting activities.